How To Brace Your Home In Case Of Earthquake

The floor is filled with shattered glass, broken furniture, and trinkets that used to be lovely decorations for your living room. At the sight of the mess that is now your home, you begin to wonder where you went wrong.

There is no telling when disaster will hit. Although PHILVOLCS can give some sort of heads up when an earthquake will hit, it would be too late to actually prepare for it. It also doesn’t help that the Philippines is one of the countries along the Pacific Ring of fire, which means earthquakes are expected frequently.

So before the calamity even happens, prepare your home to make sure that the impact will be as minimal as possible.

Check the foundation of your home. Better yet, get a professional to check it for you. Find out which parts of your house are weak and find a way to stabilize them. At all cost, they should at least not crumble when the intense shaking starts.

Avoid any hanging ornaments, lights, and other objects. Although they may seem like pretty decorations, they are prone to breaking and could get people hurt during an earthquake.

Try to make glass windows and doors, picture frames, mirrors, and other glass structures as sturdy as possible. Keep them away from beds, tables, and other places you might expect a person to be in. CBC News suggests using heavy drapes on glass windows to keep the pieces in that area if ever it breaks.

Secure all furniture and appliances by bolting them to the walls or floors. The LA Times suggests screwing in bookshelves, dressers, cabinets, and other furniture that are leaning against the wall to ensure they don’t fall.

Always have an emergency kit ready. Put all the essentials like first aid, emergency food supplies, water, flashlight with batteries, and a radio among others. Check online for a complete list of things in an emergency kit. Also, always have a fire extinguisher at home. Earthquakes sometimes cause other problems like fire.

You will see that after an earthquake, all your furniture is intact; there are no shards of glass all over the floor, and the trinkets in your living room are safely in their place.

Make sure your home can withstand earthquakes, whatever the magnitude and while you’re at it, prepare your wallet, as well.

If there are still damages to your home, you need to be also prepared for the financial demand. You don’t need to touch your savings or get a loan; all you need is to be insured.

Home insurance can guarantee you financial assistance if your house gets damaged. It will also help you find a temporary home while your house gets repaired and all the other necessary things you might need.

PhilsFirst offers a comprehensive housing insurance, with all the features mentioned above, that will help you recover from calamities in all aspects. The Home First insurance covers damages from fires and even losses due to robbery, among others. For more information, visit www.philsfirst.com.ph.